


Puncture Repair

by SoldierOfMyShadowyMind



Series: I Won't Fall When You're Shook [2]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anne finds out Venom is alive, Bodysharing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Possessive Venom, Sickfic, Sleepy Cuddles, Venom takes care of Eddie, more symbiote fluff, protective Venom, the summary sounds far more dramatic than it really is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoldierOfMyShadowyMind/pseuds/SoldierOfMyShadowyMind
Summary: Venom has stopped moving, now he’s hovering around Eddie’s ribcage. He’s still, but Eddie can sense the unsteady vibrations, irregular flashes of anger and something terribly close to fear.Pain.I’m sorry.Eddie thinks, a little desperately.Don’t leave me, Eddie.(Or: Eddie gets sick. Venom gets separation anxiety.)





	Puncture Repair

**Author's Note:**

> Another day, another fic. Here we go again, more fluff, more cuddles, more cuteness.
> 
> The feedback on my first Venom fic was so overwhelmingly positive and I just want to say thank you all so much! The encouragement is so wonderful and hugely appreciated! There's a billion other things I should be doing right now but instead I decided to regale you with this. Enjoy!

Eddie accepts Anne’s invitation to dinner because he hasn’t seen her in too long and wants to know if she’s doing good for herself (which she obviously is, judging by the sound of her voice over the phone but Eddie tells himself he simply wants to make sure). He’s happy for her, and hell, even for Dan. It’s hard not to like Dan and Eddie’s long given up on trying to win Annie back. They’re happy together and maybe it’s best this way, both Eddie and Anne settled in a new life, not far from each other but a safe distance away.

“What do you think, buddy? Apparently, Dan’s quite the cook.” The man really scares Eddie, there’s nothing Dan is bad at. There has to be a catch somewhere.

 ** _“Food”_** Venom agrees, giving an approving nod from where he hovers, materialised, next to Eddie’s shoulder. He’s been intently watching Eddie while he was speaking to Anne. It was just a tad distracting. **_“And we like Anne.”_**

Eddie chuckles. “Yes, we do.”

**_“And we don’t want to eat Dan. Most of the time.”_ **

That elicits a laugh from Eddie and he shakes his head fondly, gently nudging Venom’s floating head. The symbiote’s teeth graze his shoulder, nibbling lovingly and Eddie shudders at the sensation, a flash of panic mixed with comfort and warmth. His life can’t get any weirder, he supposes. He washes down the remains of tonight’s dinner with a glass of water, trying not to think about the feeling of bone splintering between his teeth, and goes to bed.

 

~~~

 

Eddie wakes up with a heavy head and a parched throat. He groggily rubs at his eyes, but it doesn’t do much to make his vision less blurry. Venom crawls underneath his skin, restless, as if he’s looking for something.

 ** _Uncomfortable_** comes the helpful comment.

“Yeah, thanks, I’m not exactly feeling at my best” Eddie croaks and immediately regrets it when the words scratch at the back of his throat and the effort of speaking throws him into a coughing fit. Venom protests vehemently, prodding and budging against him in obvious discomfort.

**_Stop shaking me up, Eddie._ **

Eddie frowns at the anger in the symbiote’s voice. “I’m trying” he gives back and flops back onto the pillow. Closing his eyes for a few minutes he wills his body to calm down. His heartrate slows to normal levels and breathing doesn’t hurt as much anymore. He feels Venom climb through his body and settle around his lungs where he drapes himself like a blanket, soothing irritated spots. Eddie smiles and places a hand on his chest.

“Thanks” he mumbles, rubbing gently.

The answering hum reverberates through his bones and Eddie feels content for a few silent moments until the dryness in his throat becomes unbearable and he gets up to stagger into the kitchen.

He eats a moderate breakfast, ignoring Venom’s persistent whining, and gulps down as much water as he can. Shuffling towards what counts as a shabby excuse for a living-room Eddie makes a beeline for the couch and lets himself drop onto it. The furniture creaks in protest. God, he really has to start looking for a new place to live.

 ** _Why are you dragging your feet?_ ** Venom enquires before Eddie has a chance to even close his eyes for a blissful second.

He grunts in response. “Dunno. I’m tired, I suppose.”

The symbiote prickles under the surface of his skin in what Eddie has learned is Venom’s equivalent of a shake of the head.

 ** _You rested for eight hours and twenty-five minutes._** The symbiote swarms out, prodding here and there, exploring his insides. **_But our body feels weird._** He draws out the last word and Eddie wrinkles his nose at the loud booming voice in his head.

“Volume, buddy” he grits out. “Tune it down, we talked about this.”

This gets him another displeased rumble – _whatever we want_ applies to far too little times and situations for Venom’s liking – but Eddie barely pays any attention in favour of dozing off. It’s Sunday and he’s got nothing else planned than dinner at Anne and Dan’s tonight. He doesn’t want to have to cancel so he supposes he can use the rest of the day to sleep off whatever sluggishness creeped into his bones overnight. Venom is too busy crawling up and down his spine to voice any disapproval.

Eddie wakes to the shivering, piercing feeling of _cold_ and he bristles, blinking dazedly. He’s only wearing the old t-shirt and jeans he threw on after dragging himself out of bed and the window’s open. As he trots over to close it he can feel Venom pulsing through him, still relentlessly rushing from head to toe, never lingering long enough to give Eddie pause for breath.

“What’s that when it’s at home?” he asks, only half interested. His thoughts are pulling him towards the bathroom. A hot shower does sound terribly inviting right now.

 ** _Trouble_** Venom merely supplies, and Eddie frowns at the curt answer. **_Can’t locate the source._**

“Don’t make a fuss, Vee” he mumbles. “It’s probably just general exhaustion from haunting the streets trying to satisfy your insatiable appetite.” Eddie might have made some sort of peace with scraping their food fresh from the less savoury back alleys of San Francisco but Venom’s toothy jaws open much too wide and he puts a whole new level to the definition of a messy eater. It’ll never not be disgusting tasting whatever chewy remains stick to the roof of his mouth when Venom – when they – become Eddie again and Eddie resolutely sticks to the rule of just swallowing it down. He made the mistake of checking once and that’s a lesson he learned thoroughly.

Venom doesn’t talk back like he usually would and it worries Eddie a bit, in the back of his mind. The shower is welcoming and he lets the warm water run over his clammy skin.

 

~~~

 

The air is crisp and chilly but it clears the fog in Eddie’s brain and definitely smells better than the stale air in his apartment. Drawing the coat tighter around his shoulders, he ambles down the streets. While fire is lethal, Venom doesn’t much enjoy the cold either and the symbiote hums contentedly, nestled around Eddie’s shoulders. It feels a bit like wearing two thick scarves or having a cat draped around your neck. It’s comfortable and slightly amusing.

Annie and Dan greet him warmly and for a while Eddie feels a bit more like his old self again. Venom stays mostly quiet, which Eddie takes with pleasant surprise and a generous grain of salt because silence can have too many meanings where his companion is concerned. Dan doesn’t disappoint, the food is excellent – even Venom approves – and the evening is going really rather well. Eddie likes being back on track, living a cautious routine that, admittedly, gets him pinned to the wall with fury at times and earns him slobbering displays of affection at others – Venom is a very moody creature to put it mildly – but it’s a routine, nonetheless. And having Anne back in his life – in whatever way – is more than he could ever ask for and he’s grateful, infinitely so.

The conversation swings back and forth and Eddie laughs a lot more than he has in the past few weeks combined. It’s when he stands to assist Dan in clearing the plates away that he sways, momentarily dizzy.

 ** _Balance._** Venom is there instantly to ground him to his feet. Eddie sends a thought of gratitude.

“Eddie? Are you all right?” Anne sounds concerned but he waves her off.

“Yeah, fine” he nods but the motion is too abrupt and he feels sickness well up in his stomach. “Ohh” he grunts and scrambles for something to grab a hold of.

“Are you sure?” comes Anne’s worried voice but it sounds muffled through the cotton over Eddie’s ears.

 ** _Eddie?_** Venom’s booming voice fills his head, sounding disconcertingly apprehensive and that should definitely send the alarm bells ringing but Eddie is still struggling to keep himself upright and one challenge at a time, he decides.

Anne steps around the table and puts a hand on his arm. “You look a bit pale. Let’s get you to the couch” she suggests quietly and Eddie lets himself be manoeuvred. Sitting down sounds like a very sensible thing to do and as soon as he’s settled, the wallowing sickness in his stomach ebbs away a bit.

**_What is happening, Eddie?_ **

“I don’t know” he wheezes. Speaking is still a bad idea and the words come out jumbled and his tongue feels thick and disgustingly furry.

“What was that?” Anne asks next to him but Eddie just glances at her in incomprehension.

Venom sets off on yet another journey through their shared body but whilst his surroundings feel blurred and distant, Eddie can feel ever sliver of movement under his skin and it makes him heave and squirm. “Stop” he begs, unaware of Anne’s increasingly concerned looks. Venom ignores his pleading, prodding and tugging, examining his insides and it feels as if he’s turning Eddie’s organs around and the mere thought makes Eddie clamp his hand over his mouth.

“Stop what?” Anne crouches down in front of him. “Hey, Eddie, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

 ** _Everything is in order, you’re not hurt_** Venom summarises and his voice drowns out Anne’s words. A beat of silence, then, quiet, urgent, **_Are you hurt, Eddie?_**

All Eddie can manage is a meek “No”. The room suddenly feels too hot and he paws at his sweater. He’s always feeling a bit too hot these days – carrying another life form around in your body does that. But this is different from the comforting warmth of Venom’s presence in his veins, this feels choking and restricting and Eddie’s chest heaves to get as much air into his lungs as possible.

“Eddie?”

**_Eddie?_ **

“Eddie, can you hear me?”

**_Why is our body reacting like this? There is no reason. The food was fine. Dead, but—_ **

“No, no, no, don’t make me think about food. I’m gonna be sick.” Eddie fails to suppress a full-body shudder as he tastes bile in his mouth.

“Okay, that’s it, I’m getting Dan” Anne announces.

Before she can move a muscle Venom emerges, all bared teeth and lolling tongue and he snaps at her, hissing. **_“Eddie is mine. I will take care of him._ We _will fix him. We do not need you or that doctor.”_** He spits out the last word, contempt dripping from every syllable.

Anne screams, scrambling backwards. “What—?!” she chokes out and Eddie, only half registering what’s going on around him, suddenly remembers that she didn’t know. He wanted to tell her – not without getting Venom’s blessing first, of course – but the right moment just hadn’t arisen yet and right now Eddie regrets it with every fibre of his being.

“Don’t” he croaks. “Don’t do that, don’t… scare her.”

Venom rears his head on him, still fuming. **_“She wanted to take you away. I’m not letting her do that. You are staying with us.”_**

Anne is struggling to regain her composure and Eddie wants to reach out to comfort her, tell her it’s fine, it’s all right but the forward momentum makes him lose his balance and he falls over, landing on the floor, sprawled uncomfortably, half in Annie’s lap.

Venom diffuses and bleeds out over his skin, rippling in waves as if he’s trying to ward Anne off. Eddie tries his damn hardest to send a mental _Stop it!_ and to his mild surprise, Venom reluctantly complies, slinking back underneath his skin but he stays close to the surface, guarding, watching.

“Sorry” Eddie mumbles at a shell-shocked looking Anne. “That was not how I planned it.” His apology is lost in the sudden ruckus sounding from the kitchen and the heavy footfalls of Dan rushing towards them.

“Loud” Eddie whimpers, covering his ears. God, he feels sick, his bones feel like they’ve been turned to jelly and his head swims.

**_Tell me what to do. You are hurting, Eddie. Why? Why?_ **

Venom has stopped moving, now he’s hovering around Eddie’s ribcage. He’s still, but Eddie can sense the unsteady vibrations, irregular flashes of anger and something terribly close to fear.

**_Pain._ **

_I’m sorry._ Eddie thinks, a little desperately.

**_Don’t leave me, Eddie._ **

The anxious plea is the last thing that registers with him before he falls into a shallow, feverish sleep. He tosses, fitful and floating between dizzy half-wakefulness and unconscious darkness, any control over his body surrendered. He completely loses his sense of time and the night divides into moments of muddled haziness, his heart beating wildly, too warm or too cold in alternation, and utter blankness when he sinks back into erratic cotton-muffled sleep.

The room is dark and quiet when Eddie sluggishly blinks his eyes open, his head still spinning and with no sense of orientation. He feels around with his hands; he’s not home. Still at Anne and Dan’s, then. His eyes still adjusting to the dark he experimentally tries to shift but he gasps when he’s pinned down by an enormous force.

**_DON’T LEAVE ME!_ **

Eddie lets out a pathetic shriek at the raucous, loudly echoing voice in his head and it feels as if it bounces off the walls of his mind, an endless loop of… fearful trepidation. Eddie tries to gather his thoughts but the headache is pounding against his skull and his eyes sting, feeling too dry.

He clears his throat. “Vee?” he croaks, his own voice breaking, rough from sleep.

**_I’m not letting you go, Eddie. Not again. Never again._ **

A wave of sadness and images, cold and lonely, washes over him and Eddie tries to pinpoint its source but his lack of reaction only intensifies the emotion.

“I’m here” he mutters, reaching out with his voice as well as with his thoughts. “I’m not going anywhere.” A shiver runs down his spine and he shakes with coldness. It runs deep, down to his toes and up to the tips of his hairs. Not a second later he feels something shift _on_ him and when he raises both hands, the movement is slow as if he’s being inhibited and he realises with mild shock that he is _covered_ in ink. Venom has risen from his skin and spread out across his entire body, blanketing every last inch, sparing only his face. It feels incredibly soft.

“What are you doing?” Eddie whispers, his fingertips touching the gently wafting blackness on his chest. His hand hovers for a second before he lets it sink in, enwrapped in Venom. He realises a second too late that he’s comforting Venom, soothing the fear still prickling at the base of his skull.

**_Protecting you._ **

“I don’t need—” Eddie starts but cuts himself off, knowing that’s not what Venom wants to hear right now.

**_You scared us. We belong together._ **

Eddie smiles tiredly, feeling a little fuzzy but also inexplicably safe and warm. Both his hands are gently carding through the black substance and it coaxes a pleased purr out of the symbiote.

“I’m sorry” Eddie says and the answering relief he feels cursing through him is better than any words. It’s silent, profound understanding and Eddie sends a pulse of affection and fondness. “I’m sorry” he says again because maybe he needs the comfort of knowing that Venom truly understands, beyond a doubt. “It scared you that you didn’t know what was happening, huh?”

**_We couldn’t fix you. We tried but we failed._ **

“You didn’t fail” Eddie says, with emphasis because he can’t have that. This is not Venom’s fault. “There’s nothing you could have done.” Although Venom’s doing his best, enveloping Eddie in safety and care and it’s heartbreaking in a way. Eddie doesn’t know what he expected his life to be like after all that happened but this sure isn’t it. This is better. It should be terrifying, it should be dangerous and yet here he is, cuddling with the alien that lives in him, through him, _with_ him.

Aiming for reassurance, Eddie adds, “I’ll be fine, it’s nothing bad. Just give it a couple days.”

That finally prompts a response. **_Days?!_** It sounds indignant and dubiously horrified.

Eddie chuckles and regrets it as coughs shake him. Venom tightens his grip on him and Eddie calms. “Just because your kind doesn’t get sick doesn’t mean humans heal in less than a day.”

 ** _Ineffective_** Venom grumbles but his tone is more soft than anything. Eddie gets the distinct feeling that Venom likes taking care of him and he involuntarily blushes at the thought.

The symbiote melts into him, letting Eddie feel the process. Eddie’s nerve endings tickle and flare with the sensation and he gasps. Venom swooshes through his veins, making sure Eddie feels his presence, knows he’s there, before he settles in his chest, curling protectively around his heart.

Eddie smiles fondly. “You think you’re cute, huh?”

 ** _Of course we are cute. You are adorable._** Venom ripples through him, showering him in contentment before he bleeds out of his skin again to pour over his body, covering him once more, forming a faintly pulsing blanket.

“I’m many things but definitely not adorable” Eddie protests but he doesn’t swat the thin tendril away that’s rising out of the wave of black on his body and sneaks upwards along the side of his face. It stays there for a moment, like a hand cupping his cheek, and then moves higher to gently push sweaty strands of hair out of Eddie’s eyes. Venom caresses his forehead and Eddie’s not quite prepared for the storm of affection.

**_I got us._ **

Eddie hums, content and hazy and sleepy. “Go to sleep, love” he mumbles and before he can realise what he said, he’s dozed off, safely wrapped up in soft, inky arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think, please?
> 
>  
> 
> [My tumblr](http://atravellingsoldierstaleofwinter.tumblr.com/)


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